All in the Family

By Jeff HannaMarch 10, 2011

For Lyle Smith, banking is a family affair. Earlier this year, Lyle, a member of the Class of 1993, was named managing director and chief investment officer of United Bank’s Wealth Management Group, which manages more than $5 billion in client assets. It’s based in Charleston, W.Va. He is now the fourth generation of his family to direct operations for United Bank. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Ike Smith, a double-degree holder at W&L who received his undergraduate degree in 1957 and his law degree in 1960.

In a recent feature story on Lyle in the Charleston State-Journal, he explained that it’s “my father’s side that’s steeped in banks.” Indeed.

Lyle’s great-grandfather, I.N. Smith II, became president of Kanawha Banking and Trust in 1926. Next, his grandfather, I.N. Smith III, was appointed president of KB&T in 1953. And then Ike Smith, who also served W&L as a member of the Board of Trustees from 1980 to 1991, was appointed president of KB&T and was president of the bank and its holding company when it merged with United Bankshares Inc. in 1986.

After earning his history degree at W&L, Lyle went to the University of South Carolina to earn an M.B.A. with a concentration in finance and investments. He was a commercial relationship manager and credit analyst with the Financial Growth Group at Bank of America prior to joining United 12 years ago. Before being named to his current position, Lyle was the Wealth Management Group’s senior portfolio manager and head of investment research.